The preferred embodiment concerns a method and a system for generation of a graphical user interface for an electrophotographic printing or copying system. Data for generation of a graphical user interface are stored in a storage region of a first data processing unit.
In known printers or copiers, a serial interface is provided for connection of a service and maintenance computer with which diagnostic tasks and adjustment tasks can be implemented. Individual components of the printer or copier have their own data interfaces, at which the service and maintenance computer for diagnostic, configuration and maintenance tasks can be connected via an interface converter. In known printers, the diagnosis and adjustment of these components can only occur via the respective data interface of the component. Due to the relatively low data transfer rates of these data interfaces, larger quantities of data would have to be read out from the printer or copier with the aid of exchangeable data media such as, for example, diskettes. Different programs that are respectively individually invoked and executed by the service and maintenance computer are necessary for evaluation of these error data, for diagnosing and maintenance of the components with their own data interfaces, and for diagnosis of the printer or copier via the serial interface. The necessary programs are installed on the service and maintenance computer, whereby different programs that are respectively stored as a separate program on a fixed disc of the service and maintenance computer are necessary for individual delivery states of individual components and of the printer or copier. Even the selection of the correct program requires significant expertise.
A control system for a printer or copier is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,382, in which a portable maintenance device can be connected to a maintenance interface. The printer or copier first transfers data with state information of the printer or copier with the aid of a connection between the maintenance device and the printer or copier. Furthermore, second data that contain state information can be input to the maintenance device. At least one pair of items of stored control information can be output by the maintenance device based on the first and second state information. Furthermore, from U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,382 it is known to transfer the stored data to a data processing system.
Furthermore, from the document EP 0 843 230 A1 a system is known for remote maintenance via the World Wide Web of a peripheral device connected with a network. In this system, a Java applet is downloaded given the first invocation call by a server to a data processing system, and there it is cached by a browser program module for a repeated invocation by the same HTML document. A graphical user interface is generated with the aid of the HTML document, whereby the HTML document is also transferred to the data processing system. A method and an arrangement for implementation of monitoring and management functions in networks with monitored components is known from the document DE 197 35 947 A1 and a data transfer over the Internet with the aid of program modules based on the programming language Java is known from the document U.S. Pat. No. 5,926,631 A1.